Notice of Approval for Other Use of Phosphogypsum, 104535-104536 [2024-30508]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Notices
or check the website above for
reschedule information.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
Francis Sylvester,
Designated Federal Officer, Office of
Congressional and Intergovernmental
Relations.
[FRL–12519–01–OA]
Meeting of the Local Government
Advisory Committee
[FR Doc. 2024–30752 Filed 12–20–24; 8:45 am]
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notification of public meeting.
AGENCY:
Pursuant to the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the
EPA hereby provides notice of a meeting
of the Local Government Advisory
Committee (LGAC) on the date and time
described below. This meeting will be
open to the public. For information on
public attendance and participation,
please see the registration information
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
DATES: The LGAC will have a virtual
meeting January 9th, from 2–3 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Frank Sylvester, Designated Federal
Officer (DFO) of the Local Government
Advisory Committee, at
sylvester.frank.j@epa.gov or 202–564–
1279.
Information on Accessibility: For
information on access or services for
individuals requiring accessibility
accommodations, please send an email
to LGAC@epa.gov. To request
accommodation, please do so five (5)
business days prior to the meeting, to
give EPA as much time as possible to
process your request.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Content: The LGAC will discuss a
welcome letter to the incoming
administration, highlighting the
committee’s value to the Agency and
where the committee can best help the
Administration achieve its priorities.
Meeting materials and
recommendations will be posted online
closer to the meeting dates.
Registration: Both meetings will be
held virtually through Microsoft Teams.
Members of the public who wish to
participate should register by contacting
Frank Sylvester, Designated Federal
Officer (DFO) of the Local Government
Advisory Committee, at
sylvester.frank.j@epa.gov or 202–564–
1279 at least 24 hours of the meeting
start time. The agenda and other
supportive meeting materials will be
available online at https://www.epa.gov/
ocir/local-government-advisorycommittee-lgac and can be obtained by
written request to the DFO. In the event
of cancellation for unforeseen
circumstances, please contact the DFO
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:03 Dec 20, 2024
Jkt 265001
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OAR–2024–0446; FRL–12501–01–
OAR]
Notice of Approval for Other Use of
Phosphogypsum
Office of Air and Radiation,
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (the EPA or the Agency) has
approved, subject to certain conditions,
the request for a ‘‘Small-scale Road Pilot
Project on Private Land in Florida’’
submitted by Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC in
March 2022, and updated by the
‘‘Revised Request for Approval of Use of
Phosphogypsum in Small-scale Pilot
Project’’, submitted in August 2023. The
Agency’s review found that Mosaic’s
request is complete per the
requirements of EPA’s National
Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air
Pollutants under the Clean Air Act, and
that the potential radiological risks from
conducting the pilot project meet the
regulatory requirement that the project
is at least as protective of public health
as maintaining the phosphogypsum in a
stack. On October 9, 2024, the EPA
issued a pending approval of the request
and solicited public comments on the
pending approval. While EPA received
comments raising questions about the
project, no comments were received
which led EPA to change the results of
its risk analyses for this proposed pilot
project. This approval is only for the
proposed pilot project, and EPA has
placed conditions on the approval to
make sure that the project remains
within the scope of the application.
DATES: This decision is effective
immediately.
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jonathan Walsh, Radiation Protection
Division, Office of Radiation and Indoor
Air, Mail Code 6608T, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460;
202–343–9238; Walsh.Jonathan@
epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
104535
I. Background
Phosphogypsum is the waste
byproduct of wet acid phosphorous
production. It contains elevated
concentrations of the radionuclide
radium, which decays to form radon
gas. The EPA’s regulations under the
Clean Air Act at 40 CFR part 61, subpart
R (hereafter ‘‘Subpart R’’) require that
phosphogypsum must be disposed of in
engineered piles, called stacks, to limit
public exposure to its radioactive
components. Subpart R allows the
removal of phosphogypsum from stacks
for outdoor agricultural purposes and
indoor research and development,
subject to conditions and restrictions.
Any other use of phosphogypsum
requires prior approval from the EPA.
The EPA may approve a request for a
specific use of phosphogypsum if it
determines that the proposed use is at
least as protective of public health as
placement of phosphogypsum in a
stack. The processes for requesting such
an approval are described in 40 CFR
61.206.
Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC submitted a
request for a Small-scale Road Pilot
Project on Private Land in Florida in
March 2022, and submitted a Revised
Request for Approval of Use of
Phosphogypsum in Small-scale Pilot
Project in August 2023. Mosaic has
proposed to construct a small-scale pilot
project at its New Wales facility in Polk
County, Florida. Mosaic’s plan is to
construct four sections of test road
having varying mixtures of
phosphogypsum (PG) in the road base
‘‘to demonstrate the range of PG road
construction designs that meet the
Florida Standard Specifications for
Road and Bridge construction’’ (Request
for Approval of Additional Uses of
Phosphogypsum Pursuant to 40 CFR
61.206, Small-scale Road Pilot Project
on Private Land in Florida). The pilot
project will be constructed in the place
of an existing facility road near the
phosphogypsum stack, and the study
will be conducted in conjunction with
researchers from the University of
Florida.
The EPA performed a complete
review of Mosaic’s request, documented
in ‘‘Review of the Small-scale Road Pilot
Project on Private Land in Florida
Submitted by Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC’’
(www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No.
EPA–HQ–OAR–2024–0446). The
Agency’s review found that Mosaic’s
request is complete per the
requirements of 40 CFR 61.206(b).
Further, the review found that Mosaic’s
risk assessment is technically
acceptable, and that the potential
radiological risks from the proposed
E:\FR\FM\23DEN1.SGM
23DEN1
104536
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Notices
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
project meet the regulatory requirements
of 40 CFR 61.206(c); that is, the project
is at least as protective of public health
as maintaining the phosphogypsum in a
stack. Therefore, the Agency issued an
approval of the small-scale pilot project
per 40 CFR 61.206, subject to terms and
conditions which limit the project to the
scope of the application. The terms and
conditions are included in the approval
letter to Mosaic, which is available in
the public docket and on the EPA
website, https://www.epa.gov/radiation/
phosphogypsum. Approval by the
Agency is specific to the pilot project as
described in the Mosaic request and
indicates only that this project meets the
approval requirements of Subpart R.
II. Public Comments and Responses
The EPA’s decision to approve or
deny a request for other use under 40
CFR 61.206 is not a rulemaking. In
December 2005, the EPA issued a
guidance document, ‘‘Applying to EPA
for Approval of Other Uses of
Phosphogypsum: Preparing and
Submitting a Complete Petition Under
40 CFR 61.206, A Workbook’’
(December 2005). Although this
guidance is not binding, the EPA sought
public comment on this pending
approval using the procedure described
in Section 2.4 of the Workbook. As
outlined in the Workbook, the EPA
published a notice of availability of this
pending approval in the Federal
Register on October 9, 2024, and opened
a 30-day comment period, which was
extended in response to public requests
for an additional 15 days to close on
November 23, 2024. Physical copies of
the Mosaic request and the EPA’s
technical evaluation were placed for
public review in the Mulberry Public
Library, 905 NE 5th Street, Mulberry, FL
33860. The EPA also placed notices of
public availability in local newspapers.
The EPA has reviewed all comments
received for their relevance to the
pending approval.
Many comments requested an
extension of the 30-day comment
period. The EPA extended the comment
period in response to these requests.
The majority of comments were
generally opposed to the use of
phosphogypsum in public roads, and
critical of the current state of
phosphogypsum management; these
comments were determined to be
outside the scope of this action, which
is specific to the small-scale pilot
project as it is described in Mosaic’s
request. The EPA’s approval applies
only to the proposed pilot project and
not any broader use. Any other use
would require a separate application,
risk assessment, and approval.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:03 Dec 20, 2024
Jkt 265001
Comments related to EPA’s
management of phosphogypsum and its
non-radiological contaminants under
the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act and other statutes
similarly fell outside the scope of the
current decision. EPA has documented
other regulatory issues in its supporting
documents, but EPA’s decision is only
a determination of the permissibility of
the project under the Clean Air Act
National Emissions Standards for
Hazardous Air Pollutants for
Radionuclides. It does not imply any
other regulatory approval or
determinations of compliance. These
must be obtained or made separately
from this decision.
Some commenters indicated that EPA
established a legal ban on the use of
phosphogypsum in road construction by
considering but not issuing a categorical
approval in 1992. Road use is not
prohibited by the regulation as amended
in 1992 and is eligible to be considered
as an ‘‘other use.’’
Commenters were critical of many
aspects of the risk assessment.
Commenters questioned the EPA’s
overall ability to perform radiological
risk assessment, use of fatal radiogenic
cancers as a health endpoint, selection
of dose and risk coefficients, selection of
models, and selection of exposure
scenarios and whether current risk data
was used. Specifically, several
commenters believed that greater
emphasis should be placed on the
consideration of a future resident at the
site of the pilot project. These comments
represent disagreements with decisions
that EPA has made in its evaluation of
potential risks associated with the
proposed pilot project, rather than new
information that the Agency has not
previously considered. After reviewing
the comments, the EPA continues to
believe that the risk assessments
associated with this pilot project are
consistent with current radiological risk
assessment methodologies and
precedent, and sufficient to evaluate the
project per the requirements of 40 CFR
61.206. Results from multiple modeling
efforts indicate that risks due to the
proposed pilot project are low. EPA
believes that for this existing site, it is
most appropriate to consider the
potential risk to site workers and the
nearest residents to the site when
determining whether the pilot project is
as protective as leaving the
phosphogypsum in the stack. No
comments raised topics which EPA did
not consider in its technical evaluation
or lead to a concern for human health
or environmental impacts not
previously considered.
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
The Agency’s response to comments
document is available in the public
docket 1 and on the EPA
phosphogypsum website,2 together with
electronic copies of the application, the
EPA’s review, and relevant background
materials.
Joseph Goffman,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and
Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2024–30508 Filed 12–20–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
[OMB 3060–1155; FR ID 269133]
Information Collection Being Reviewed
by the Federal Communications
Commission
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
As part of its continuing effort
to reduce paperwork burdens, and as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC or
the Commission) invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to
take this opportunity to comment on the
following information collection.
Comments are requested concerning:
whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
the accuracy of the Commission’s
burden estimate; ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information collected; ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on the respondents,
including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology; and ways to
further reduce the information
collection burden on small business
concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
DATES: Written PRA comments should
be submitted on or before February 21,
2025. If you anticipate that you will be
submitting comments, but find it
difficult to do so within the period of
time allowed by this notice, you should
advise the contact listed below as soon
as possible.
SUMMARY:
1 https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No.
EPA–HQ–OAR–2024–0446.
2 https://www.epa.gov/radiation/
phosphogypsum#aaup.
E:\FR\FM\23DEN1.SGM
23DEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 246 (Monday, December 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 104535-104536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30508]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0446; FRL-12501-01-OAR]
Notice of Approval for Other Use of Phosphogypsum
AGENCY: Office of Air and Radiation, Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA or the Agency)
has approved, subject to certain conditions, the request for a ``Small-
scale Road Pilot Project on Private Land in Florida'' submitted by
Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC in March 2022, and updated by the ``Revised
Request for Approval of Use of Phosphogypsum in Small-scale Pilot
Project'', submitted in August 2023. The Agency's review found that
Mosaic's request is complete per the requirements of EPA's National
Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants under the Clean Air
Act, and that the potential radiological risks from conducting the
pilot project meet the regulatory requirement that the project is at
least as protective of public health as maintaining the phosphogypsum
in a stack. On October 9, 2024, the EPA issued a pending approval of
the request and solicited public comments on the pending approval.
While EPA received comments raising questions about the project, no
comments were received which led EPA to change the results of its risk
analyses for this proposed pilot project. This approval is only for the
proposed pilot project, and EPA has placed conditions on the approval
to make sure that the project remains within the scope of the
application.
DATES: This decision is effective immediately.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Walsh, Radiation Protection
Division, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, Mail Code 6608T,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20460; 202-343-9238; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Phosphogypsum is the waste byproduct of wet acid phosphorous
production. It contains elevated concentrations of the radionuclide
radium, which decays to form radon gas. The EPA's regulations under the
Clean Air Act at 40 CFR part 61, subpart R (hereafter ``Subpart R'')
require that phosphogypsum must be disposed of in engineered piles,
called stacks, to limit public exposure to its radioactive components.
Subpart R allows the removal of phosphogypsum from stacks for outdoor
agricultural purposes and indoor research and development, subject to
conditions and restrictions. Any other use of phosphogypsum requires
prior approval from the EPA. The EPA may approve a request for a
specific use of phosphogypsum if it determines that the proposed use is
at least as protective of public health as placement of phosphogypsum
in a stack. The processes for requesting such an approval are described
in 40 CFR 61.206.
Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC submitted a request for a Small-scale Road
Pilot Project on Private Land in Florida in March 2022, and submitted a
Revised Request for Approval of Use of Phosphogypsum in Small-scale
Pilot Project in August 2023. Mosaic has proposed to construct a small-
scale pilot project at its New Wales facility in Polk County, Florida.
Mosaic's plan is to construct four sections of test road having varying
mixtures of phosphogypsum (PG) in the road base ``to demonstrate the
range of PG road construction designs that meet the Florida Standard
Specifications for Road and Bridge construction'' (Request for Approval
of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum Pursuant to 40 CFR 61.206, Small-
scale Road Pilot Project on Private Land in Florida). The pilot project
will be constructed in the place of an existing facility road near the
phosphogypsum stack, and the study will be conducted in conjunction
with researchers from the University of Florida.
The EPA performed a complete review of Mosaic's request, documented
in ``Review of the Small-scale Road Pilot Project on Private Land in
Florida Submitted by Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC'' (www.regulations.gov,
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0446). The Agency's review found that
Mosaic's request is complete per the requirements of 40 CFR 61.206(b).
Further, the review found that Mosaic's risk assessment is technically
acceptable, and that the potential radiological risks from the proposed
[[Page 104536]]
project meet the regulatory requirements of 40 CFR 61.206(c); that is,
the project is at least as protective of public health as maintaining
the phosphogypsum in a stack. Therefore, the Agency issued an approval
of the small-scale pilot project per 40 CFR 61.206, subject to terms
and conditions which limit the project to the scope of the application.
The terms and conditions are included in the approval letter to Mosaic,
which is available in the public docket and on the EPA website, https://www.epa.gov/radiation/phosphogypsum. Approval by the Agency is
specific to the pilot project as described in the Mosaic request and
indicates only that this project meets the approval requirements of
Subpart R.
II. Public Comments and Responses
The EPA's decision to approve or deny a request for other use under
40 CFR 61.206 is not a rulemaking. In December 2005, the EPA issued a
guidance document, ``Applying to EPA for Approval of Other Uses of
Phosphogypsum: Preparing and Submitting a Complete Petition Under 40
CFR 61.206, A Workbook'' (December 2005). Although this guidance is not
binding, the EPA sought public comment on this pending approval using
the procedure described in Section 2.4 of the Workbook. As outlined in
the Workbook, the EPA published a notice of availability of this
pending approval in the Federal Register on October 9, 2024, and opened
a 30-day comment period, which was extended in response to public
requests for an additional 15 days to close on November 23, 2024.
Physical copies of the Mosaic request and the EPA's technical
evaluation were placed for public review in the Mulberry Public
Library, 905 NE 5th Street, Mulberry, FL 33860. The EPA also placed
notices of public availability in local newspapers.
The EPA has reviewed all comments received for their relevance to
the pending approval.
Many comments requested an extension of the 30-day comment period.
The EPA extended the comment period in response to these requests.
The majority of comments were generally opposed to the use of
phosphogypsum in public roads, and critical of the current state of
phosphogypsum management; these comments were determined to be outside
the scope of this action, which is specific to the small-scale pilot
project as it is described in Mosaic's request. The EPA's approval
applies only to the proposed pilot project and not any broader use. Any
other use would require a separate application, risk assessment, and
approval.
Comments related to EPA's management of phosphogypsum and its non-
radiological contaminants under the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act and other statutes similarly fell outside the scope of the current
decision. EPA has documented other regulatory issues in its supporting
documents, but EPA's decision is only a determination of the
permissibility of the project under the Clean Air Act National
Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Radionuclides. It
does not imply any other regulatory approval or determinations of
compliance. These must be obtained or made separately from this
decision.
Some commenters indicated that EPA established a legal ban on the
use of phosphogypsum in road construction by considering but not
issuing a categorical approval in 1992. Road use is not prohibited by
the regulation as amended in 1992 and is eligible to be considered as
an ``other use.''
Commenters were critical of many aspects of the risk assessment.
Commenters questioned the EPA's overall ability to perform radiological
risk assessment, use of fatal radiogenic cancers as a health endpoint,
selection of dose and risk coefficients, selection of models, and
selection of exposure scenarios and whether current risk data was used.
Specifically, several commenters believed that greater emphasis should
be placed on the consideration of a future resident at the site of the
pilot project. These comments represent disagreements with decisions
that EPA has made in its evaluation of potential risks associated with
the proposed pilot project, rather than new information that the Agency
has not previously considered. After reviewing the comments, the EPA
continues to believe that the risk assessments associated with this
pilot project are consistent with current radiological risk assessment
methodologies and precedent, and sufficient to evaluate the project per
the requirements of 40 CFR 61.206. Results from multiple modeling
efforts indicate that risks due to the proposed pilot project are low.
EPA believes that for this existing site, it is most appropriate to
consider the potential risk to site workers and the nearest residents
to the site when determining whether the pilot project is as protective
as leaving the phosphogypsum in the stack. No comments raised topics
which EPA did not consider in its technical evaluation or lead to a
concern for human health or environmental impacts not previously
considered.
The Agency's response to comments document is available in the
public docket \1\ and on the EPA phosphogypsum website,\2\ together
with electronic copies of the application, the EPA's review, and
relevant background materials.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-
0446.
\2\ https://www.epa.gov/radiation/phosphogypsum#aaup.
Joseph Goffman,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2024-30508 Filed 12-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P